Michelle Heaton is recovering in hospital after undergoing a double mastectomy.

The former Liberty X singer, 33, tweeted that the operation on Tuesday had gone 'well', but said she felt 'very sore and disorientated'.

The Celebrity Big Brother star decided to have her breasts removed after discovering she had the mutated BRCA2 gene, which meant she had up to an 80 per cent chance of getting breast cancer.

Recovering: Michelle Heaton, pictured at the Caudwell Children Winter Butterfly Ball last week, is recovering from a double mastectomy

Tweeting from her hospital bed: The TV star updated friends, family and followers with her progress

Following the surgery, Michelle took to Twitter to assure fans, friends and family she was OK.

She wrote: 'Thank u for all your lovely tweets. It went well, but I'm obviously very sore & disorientated still. I have the best doctors & husband Eva (sic)! x.'

Ahead of the operation on Tuesday, she tweeted: 'Thank u so much 4 your well wishes. Sorry I can't get back 2 u all, though I have read every1. On way 2hospital now. Love u all, Michelle x.'

On Monday, she posted a cute photo of her cuddling her 10-month-old daughter Faith, admitting she may be too sore to hug her for a while following the op.

Mother's love: Michelle enjoying a cuddle with her baby daughter Faith, admitting it could be a while before she can hug her again

Speaking about the operation recently to Closer magazine, Michelle said: 'Without going into the gory details, we've decided that the surgeons are going to try and keep my nipples, which is amazing.

'Sometimes you can't, or you try to and the tissue dies. There's a good chance I can keep them, but if the blood supply isn't good enough, they won't be able to.

Supportive: Michelle's husband Hugh Hanley

'If I do keep them, they won't have any sensation, but there will be less scarring, so fingers crossed.'

Michelle revealed in October she had taken the drastic decision to remove her breasts and ovaries after discovering she had the BRCA2 gene.

She was diagnosed with the mutated BRCA2 gene five months ago, meaning she's not only at high risk of breast cancer but also has a 30 per cent chance of developing ovarian cancer.

The singer inherited the gene from her father Christopher, who himself discovered he was a carrier of BRCA2 two years ago and has a number of female relatives who had suffered various forms of cancer.

The mother-of-one consulted a variety of people in order to help her make the decision, including Professor of Oncology Andrew Tutt, plastic surgeon Mr Ash Mosahebi, who is an expert at breast reconstruction, as well as her genetics councillor Dr Alison Male.

Appearing on the Lorraine show last month, she said: 'I think having such a high risk of breast cancer – albeit I know in my lifetime – so right now I know it's not particularly 80 per cent but every day that goes past I'm constantly feeling my breasts.

'I'm looking for things that aren't even there, I'm worried, I'm looking for side effects and I just think that preventative surgery is the best option for me.

'It's not for everybody, but talking to other women and talking to people who have gone through it and talking to women who didn't have the preventative surgery but later contracted cancer, is enough for me to realise that this is the best option for me. So I'm hoping that it can be done sooner rather than later so I can just get on with things.'